A pair of fires last week have again rattled remote First Nation communities in northwestern Ontario.
Police in the region have arrested a 29-year-old local man in Sachigo Lake First Nation in connection with an arson investigation after a home was destroyed last week.
Sachigo Lake First Nation is located about 420 kilometres northwest of Sioux Lookout and has a population of about 600.
Members of the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service (NAPS) observed a structural fire while on general patrol in the community on Tuesday evening.
“When officers arrived at the scene, they rushed toward the burning home in an effort to ensure all occupants had been safely evacuated,” said police in a news release.
Police officials were forced to retreat due to the head and intensity of the blaze.
“Fire crews on scene worked to suppress the spread of the fire,” said police.
“(Once able) officers continued to search the area to locate occupants.”
An arson fire destroyed a home on Sachigo Lake First Nation in northwestern Ontario on August 27, 2024. (Titus Semple/Facebook | Photo credit: Dean Beardy)
Police have reported no injuries because of the blaze.
“The structure was a total loss,” said APS spokesperson Scott Paradis in the news release.
The police services’ crime units investigated the fire as an arson.
As a result of the investigation, a 29-year-old local man was identified as a suspect in the incident.
Police located and arrested the man on Aug. 29. He has been charged with both arson – damage to property and arson – disregard for human life.
The accused was remanded into custody following a bail hearing on Friday and was assigned a future court appearance.
The Nishnawbe Aski Nation Police Service detachment is seen in Fort Severn, Ontario’s most northerly community, on Friday, April 27, 2018. (The Canadian Press/Colin Perkel)
Another fire
Meanwhile the next day, further north in the community of Fort Severn, NAPS officers were called to the scene of a structural fire at a multi-unit residence early Wednesday morning.
Fort Severn is a remote First Nation community located about 710 kilometres northeast of Sioux Lookout with a population of less than 600 people.
All residents were successfully evacuated from the six-unit complex as fire crews battled the blaze.
A suspicious fire destroys a six-unit residential complex in Fort Severn, Ont., on August 28, 2024.(Courtney Kakekaspan/Facebook)
Police officials said the building “was a total loss” on social media.
NAPS officials said the investigation into the fire is ongoing.
A suspicious fire destroys a six-unit residential complex in Fort Severn, Ont., on August 28, 2024.(Courtney Kakekaspan/Facebook)
Not the first major fires in northwestern Ontario this year
These are the latest in what has become a serious of significant structural fires in First Nations across northwestern Ontario this year.
On Jan. 25, a fire destroyed the only school in Eabametoong First Nation displacing about 300 students from kindergarten to Grade 9. Then on Feb. 1, a residential fire in the remote community of Peawanuck killed two people and sent three others to the hospital, on March 2, the Cat Lake First Nation lost its only health-care hub when a blaze destroyed its nursing station, and earlier in August, fires destroyed an abandoned home and the band off in North Spirit Lake First Nation.
Northern Ontario MPP reacts
Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa was in Toronto, Ont., at Queens Park for a committee meeting Wednesday morning but chose to speak to his constituents over social media as the day began to address the unfortunate fire situation in several communities. (The video is shown above.)
Sol Mamakwa, Ontario MPP for the riding of Kiiwetinoong, says reconciliation means investing in infrastructure in remote communities. He is pictured here leaving the stage after speaking to supporters at the Ontario NDP Leadership showcase in Toronto on Saturday, February 4, 2023. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)
“It is unfortunate when we see, you know, fires in northern First Nations, fly-in First Nations, where they do not have the capacity to be able to provide … to fight a fire,” said Mamakwa.
“Typically we just watch the (the fire burn) …”
‘Beyond thoughts and prayers’
The MPP was actually in Fort Severn earlier this month and said that he has been in contact with the community elders and confirmed there were no fire suppression tools available when the fire broke out last week.
“They just stared at [the building] and then they just watched it burn to the ground,” Mamakwa said, in a statement.
A suspicious fire destroys a six-unit residential complex in Fort Severn, Ont., on August 28, 2024. The First Nation community had no fire suppression tools available when the blaze broke out, according to Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa, so all residents could do was stare and watch as the building burned to the ground. (Courtney Kakekaspan/Facebook)
According to the Kiiwetinoong MPP, there is “an infrastructure crisis” in northern Ontario and both provincial and federal levels of government need to do more to address it.
“When governments talk about reconciliation, it’s just a word — and I think that’s it’s time that we start looking at infrastructure and water, housing, and fire suppression equipment, training,” said Mamakwa.
“We are beyond condolences. We are beyond thoughts and prayers from the government, and I think it’s time to put resources into that.”
The MPP said there are too many needless deaths in northern communities.
Sol Mamakwa poses for a photo with his mother, Kezia Mamakwa, and other family members, at the Ontario Legislature in Toronto, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)
“Pray for each other, work with each other … there is lots of stuff happening, too many unnecessary suffering in our communities,” said Mamakwa as his live stream ended on Aug. 28.
“We need to come together; we need to work together to address the issues that we face.”